X-Message-Number: 4538
Date: Thu, 22 Jun 95 19:33:37
From: Steve Bridge <>
Subject: Alcor's Latest Suspension
To CryoNet
>From Steve Bridge, Alcor Foundation
June 22, 1995
Alcor performed a whole body suspension on June 13th. Anatol
("Andy") Epstein was a 66 year old male history professor from New York
City. He had been a suspension member less than one year. While none
of us at Alcor had met Andy in person, we had enjoyed our telephone
conversations immensely. He was a kind and literate man, with a loving,
supportive family.
We were aware that Andy had been battling brain cancer; but we did
not know that he was currently hospitalized with pneumonia. Alcor
received less than an hour's notice of the situation before clinical
death, which was about 10:00 p.m. in New York (7:00 p.m. in Phoenix) on
the 12th. This precluded a prompt field washout, since our Scottsdale
team could not have arrived in New York until late the next morning,
several hours after the first morning flight from New York to Phoenix.
This was also too late for the back-up washout solution to be flown in
from Ft. Lauderdale.
However, thanks to some exceptional assistance from hospital
personnel, our cooperating New York mortician, and two transport-trained
volunteers, the suspension proceeded as well as could be expected in such
a situation. The hospital staff packed the patient in ice, administered
heparin, sodium bicarbonate, and Maalox, and the physician on duty
performed closed-chest compressions for 15 minutes to circulate the drugs.
The mortician quickly picked up the patient and, with the assistance of
Gerry Arthus and Curtis Henderson, packed the patient in water ice for
shipment to Phoenix via the first America West flight on the 13th.
(America West's overnight cargo crew in Phoenix was again extremely
helpful in setting up the shipment.)
By the time the patient arrived at Alcor's Scottsdale facility at
11:15 a.m. (Phoenix time), his temperature was about 4 degrees C. The
suspension team was prepared, and cardiac surgery proceeded rapidly. The
glycerol perfusion went very smoothly and no clots were visible during the
procedure. Cryoprotective perfusion was completed at 4:10 p.m. and the
patient was placed into the dry ice bath at approximately 6:00 p.m. We
achieved a very high glycerol concentration of approximately 7 molar
(measured in effluent from the brain burrhole). This is excellent under
any circumstances and is extraordinary in a no-washout situation after
approximately 18 hours of (chilled) ischemia. It is obvious that the
hospital intervention provided an immense benefit to the patient. We are
grateful to the hospital staff, Curtis and Gerry, and the mortician for
all of the extra work they did.
Alcor now has 29 suspension patients, 11 whole body and 18 neuro. A
full suspension report will be published in CRYONICS in a future issue.
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